Choate shuts down Murray State, earns vote for OVC Pitcher of the Week

May 25, 2010

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Junior Chason Choate of Murfreesboro,
Tenn. joined two other members of the Golden Eagle pitching staff
this week in earning the vote for the Ohio Valley Conference
Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the regular season.

This is the first time in the southpaw’s career that he
has earned the OVC honor.

He joins two seniors, fellow left-hander and two-time honoree
Adam Liberatore and righty Lee Henry on the list of Pitcher(s) of
the Week, as well as juniors A.J. Kirby-Jones and Chad Oberacker on
the list of Golden Eagles to receive OVC honors.

Choate pitched third in the rotation for Tech in their final
series against Murray State with the regular-season Ohio Valley
Conference title on the line. Choate has logged 17 total
appearances this year, yet Sunday’s game marked just his
third start of the season.

Giving up just two hits in seven scoreless innings against the
Thoroughbreds to earn the 11-1 win and secure the no. 1 seed for
Tech in the OVC Championship Tournament. He walked only two batters
and struck out three with 102 pitches on the day. Not one of the
four men Choate allowed on advanced past first base, and at one
point in the game he retired 12 of 14 batters.

The win brought Choate to a 3-3 record and lowered his ERA to
5.68. He has now pitched 50.2 innings for the season and held his
opponents to a .263 batting average.

Within the OVC, Choate maintains an outstanding ERA of 2.45 in
seven appearances (29.1 innings) and has held opponents to a .216
average.

Choate will undoubtedly be an integral part of the Golden Eagle
pitching staff as the team travels to Jackson, Tennessee this week
for the Championship Tournament at Pringles Park. Tech has earned a
BYE for the first round and will play their first game on Thursday
evening at 7:00pm.